The skies are clear. The river is at its normal level. Authorities are reporting a low risk of wildfire. Fault lines have been quiet. It’s tempting to operate your business as if these will always be the case. But what will you do when disaster strikes? Ask any business owner who has been through a disaster — thorough preparation makes all the difference.

When you experience a catastrophe, the trauma and stress make it difficult, if not impossible, to think clearly enough to begin setting things right. And unless you’ve collected all the documents and information you need for operational continuity, you’ll have a hard time getting things moving again.

Federated Mutual Insurance Company® offers the resources you need to prepare your business for a disaster with the Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) Open for Business-EZ® program. The program, available online or in print, guides business owners through the process of developing a plan to help keep a business profitable after a disaster.

The toolkit contains documents to record information about the major areas of your business, including basic operations, equipment, employees, customers, suppliers, vendors, finances, and information technology. It also helps you record and assess your risk for a variety of natural and man-made disasters, and test your plan for reaction and recovery. To access the toolkit, visit the IBHS website, or log on to Federated’s Shield Network and click on “IBHS – Disaster Planning.”

The IBHS website also offers a tool that helps users identify threats specific to their geographic region, helping to focus preparedness efforts. It also provides information on best practices, including assessments, guides, and checklists to help prepare for these perils:

• Earthquakes
• Floods
• Freezing weather
• Hail
• High winds
• Hurricanes
• Tornadoes
• Wildfire

The site www.disastersafety.org, is also great for employees of the business to learn how to prepare for disasters. A business cannot recover unless they have employees that can help and employees can’t help the business until they have their own personal situation under control. For more information on OFB-EZ® and the library of other risk management resources Federated Insurance® offers, contact your local Federated marketing representative.

Turn any bathroom into a more functional and efficient space that is easier to use and simpler to keep organized with storage accessories from Richelieu. These organization solutions can make morning routine run smoothly when getting ready to face the day ahead.

The BANIO Modular Organizer is a U-shaped drawer system for bathroom vanities. The cut-out shape in the back circumvents the plumbing concealing it from view while improving the functionality of the vanity drawer.

​Add the translucent acrylic storage containers as drawer dividers to keep contents tidy and make things easy to find. The containers keep the interior of the drawer looking light and airy. They can be rearranged however wanted and then clipped into place to prevent them from moving around.

Learn more at ​https://www.richelieu.com/QR/C/1210575

The Cabinet Makers Association (CMA) is pleased to announce that Dominic Rubino will be the closing keynote speaker at the organization’s 2020 national conference, which will be held March 4-6 in St. Charles, Illinois.

A professional speaker, facilitator, author, and business coach, Dominic Rubino is dedicated to helping woodworking professionals work less and earn more. Through his blog, articles, podcast, and videos Rubino has been teaching business improvement tricks to shop owners for almost two decades.

To leave the CMA 2020 event attendees with a memorable conference experience, Rubino will close the conference with insights about how business owners need a map to get their company to the destination. That map is a strategic plan that portrays what the company will look like over the next five years. Rubino’s presentation will outline specific steps to help attendees figure out WHO will do WHAT by WHEN.

Rubino’s presentation connects the overall event theme of “2020 Vision” and the associated sight lines of driving a car: looking in the rearview mirror to see where we have been, checking the blind spot to see what’s happening around us, and shifting gears to accelerate forward.  After that, according to Rubino, “The rest is just checking the map and making course corrections to get to your destination.”

​You don’t want to miss this event! For more information and to register, visit www.cabinetmakers.org/2020

The Cabinet Makers Association (CMA) will once again host a day of local shop tours on October 16, 2019 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The CMA event is in conjunction with the Wood Pro Expo Lancaster, which will be held October 17-18.

On October the 16th, the CMA event will begin with a networking breakfast before the bus departs for School Specialty in Lancaster. The next stop will be Meridian Products in New Holland, PA. Then the group will enjoy lunch at Shady Lane Smorgasbord in East Earl, PA. The day will conclude with a visit to a CMA member shop: Seven Trees Woodworking in New Holland.

The CMA hosts high-value events such as this to connect similar-sized shops with the purpose of sharing best practices and business acumen, while learning how other businesses do what they do. In addition to the shop tours, the events encourage networking by providing an opportunity to talk shop, share issues, and provide solutions. 
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Registration for the full day ofCMA tours is $65 which includes group transportation, breakfast, and lunch. To register for the shop tours and the Wood Pro Expo, visit www.woodworkingnetwork.com/events/wood-pro-expo-lancaster. In 2018, the CMA event sold out, so early registration is encouraged to secure your spot.